The Best "Two" Years

So-- I've been pretty sentimental the last few days about my mission. I miss it. I miss it with every fiber of my being. If I had a (third) chance to get back out there and put my nametag on.... you bet I would do it.

There is something so different about being a missionary. So difficult at times, but so rewarding. So exhausting, but so spiritually strengthening. So trying at times, but ultimately some of the happiest moments you'll remember in your life.

I wouldn't trade my experiences during my service for anything in the world. And I would give anything to have them all over again. If someone asked me if I would go tomorrow, you had better bet I would say yes in a heartbeat. 

I've finally gotten around to compiling the majority of my mission pictures. I was inspired in this video by another sister missionary, to whom I owe a lot of my excitement towards my mission. I hope as- and if- you watch it, you'll feel the love that I have towards my time as a missionary and know how much it meant to me.

And if you were a part of it- thank you for making it the best experience of my life. 

xx   katie

Big Surprises

So... back story.

I consider myself to be a pretty good gift giver. I seriously plan things weeks or months in advance because I love love LOVE sentimental gifts, especially for my parents. Every year, I make a calendar for them on iPhoto for Christmas with pictures from the last year. This has been a tradition of mine for the past seven years. 

This year is an interesting year because three out us four kids will be moving out of the state in the next two months. Cody and Rachelle are headed to Mississippi after he graduates from the U and is commissioned as a pilot in the Air Force. Carrie recently was offered and accepted a job in Virginia, and Cassidy is heading out to go to BYU-Idaho for college. 


I'm moving too, but I'm just moving fifteen minutes away, so it's not exactly the same... 


I knew my mom had mentioned wanting to do family pictures before Cody and Rachelle left. I had been brainstorming some stuff that I wanted to do for Mother's Day and her birthday, which are very very close (both are the first week in May). 


So I started plotting.... 


I searched and searched for several days to find an affordable photographer when I finally remembered about Chelsey Searle, who had done a friend's family and mission photos a year and a half before. She was absolutely perfect, and I was super excited to work with her.


Because we didn't know when Carrie would be moving for work, we decided to do the photos well before graduation (and incidentally, Mother's Day), so we got that all set up and picked the color scheme. Then, I knew that Mom would kill me if she had to do family photos without getting her hair done, so shoutout to my pseudo-cousin Robert Moody at Hero Hair for squeezing her in the day before to get her hair cut and colored. Birthday gift and Mother's Day gift all in one weekend.


The day started out a little (ok a LOT) windy, but by the time we were ready to do photos, it died down (thank goodness... wind + long hair = nightmare).  We just got the photos back today and they are AMAZING! I think I'll let them speak for themselves. 

(p.s. our nametag photo made the lds sister missionaries' page) 

New Etsy goodies

Sometimes I just get in these "modes". Cleaning mode, writing mode, blogging mode, spending mode....

Blogging mode doesn't happen too often, but speaking of spending mode, I bought a new DSLR on Monday.... whoops! I guess it's technically in celebration for my fabulous new job... and in anticipation of my awesome trip to Poland and the Ukraine that's coming up in the next few months.

Lately, I've been in creative mode. Which is both fun and frustrating....  I've been working a lot in the past month on expanding my Etsy shop, and creating new products and new art to hopefully bring a little more business revenue in. It's AWESOME to see the final product, but sooooo frustrating when things don't look quite like I envisioned them.

I've learned that I should have gone to school for digital design or something haha. But everything I've done, I taught myself, so I still think that's pretty cool. 

Anyway! Thanks to Pinterest inspirational quotes, floral downloads and watercolors, I've been pretty pleased at how my latest prints have turned out.

Happy happy days! I wish I had more to share with you, (maybe next week when I get my new camera!) but this will have to do for now! 

All prints are available here.